Federal government announces $42 million in HIV prevention grants

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday awarded $42 million to 133 community-based organizations to support HIV prevention.

The awards specifically target at-risk groups including African-Americans, Latinos, gay and bisexual men, and injection drug users, according to the CDC. The nation's first-ever national strategy for combating HIV and AIDS, unveiled last month, calls for more targeted investments to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS among at-risk groups in which the infection rate has reached epidemic levels.

"This funding is a critical part of CDC’s national HIV prevention efforts and is in line with the priorities identified in the recently released National HIV/AIDS Strategy," CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention Director Jonathan Mermin said in a statement. "Governments on the federal and state levels cannot end this epidemic alone, and these resources will help to give many communities the tools they need to fight HIV locally."

The average award is about $323,000 per year for five years, according to the CDC. Funds will be used to implement HIV prevention programs for individuals living with HIV and those at high risk of infection; to increase HIV testing and knowledge of infection status in at-risk communities; and to assist in monitoring program effects and behavioral outcomes.